BRAZIL, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – A Brazil foster mom is under arrest after a child in her care passed away.
Hailynn N. Volpatti, 25, was charged with neglect of dependent resulting in death. She is currently in the Clay County Jail on a $75,000 bond with no 10 percent allowed.
According to the probable cause affidavit (PCA) filed in Clay County Superior Court on October 23, 2024, a 21-month-old child was in sole care of Volpatti and her husband, who was not at home during the incident. The victim has been in their care since October 2023.
Clay County Prosecutor’s Office Investigator Troy Davis, stated in court documents, that on May 21, 2024, the victim was in a filled bathtub with Volpatti’s two four-year-old children. According to the PCA, Volapatti stated she had left the room to get a drink and when she came back, the victim was floating on her back in the bathtub. She also told police on scene that the victim “always puts her face down into the bathwater and takes a huge ‘gulp’ of water.”
She had called 911 when she could not revive the victim and when officers from the Brazil Police Department arrived they took over CPR on the child. The child was transported to Union Hospital in Terre Haute and then rushed to Riley Hospital, where she eventually passed away on June 16, 2024.
According to the PCA, on May 23, 2024, Volpatti went to the Clay County Sheriff’s Department requesting to speak to a detective. Jones met with her and she stated she had not “been completely honest with officers” on the night of the incident.
In the court documents, she stated she had put the children in the bathtub at 8:30 pm and was on the phone with a friend when she ran upstairs to get pajamas for the victim. She said her child yelled for her. According to the PCA, Volpatti changed her story again. She stated she was on the phone from 8:30 pm to 10 pm with her friend and the children were in the bathtub. She was upstairs for 30 minutes while the children were unsupervised in the filled bathtub.
The victim had numerous health issues from being born premature, which caused doctors to be concerned with the victim’s intestinal development. According to the PCA, the victim could pull herself up but could only stand unassisted for a short time and could only say a few words.
An autopsy was completed on the victim. In September 2024, Davis received the results of the autopsy. The cause of death is listed as drowning and the manner of death is accidental. According to the PCA, Vopatti is criminally charged with the death because, “Hailynn Volpatti was the sole caregiver to ‘victim,’ who placed the child in a water-filled bathtub with two four-year-old children, then left victim unattended for more than 30 minutes while she was on the phone in an upstairs bedroom talking to a friend.”
He added that the victim’s extensive medical issues played a part in the decision for the charges. Volpatti has an initial hearing set for Friday morning.
